Instagram Guides add context to content, Facebook takes over Giphy, newsletters are having a moment, and two TikTok-popular brands collab.
Your weekly digital marketing matchbox to kindle creative content.
May 21, 2020
Introducing Instaguides
Imagine if Instagram and Pinterest had a baby. Sounds pretty glorious, right? Well, dream no more because Instagram launched Guides — a new Pinterest-esque profile tab for select business users and creators. The feature highlights recommendations, tips, and other content through posts and videos curated by the creator, along with added context and commentary. Currently, Guides is reserved for wellness and mental health accounts. Still, if and when it’s rolled out globally, the feature could allow new opportunities for sponsorship deals, showcasing products and content offers, and providing how-to resources. Guides could provide a whole new way for brands to utilize their Instagram presence, repurpose campaigns, and all-around up their content game. All we can say is we’re excited for the future of this IG-Pinterest lovechild.
Get Giphy With It
Regardless of how you pronounce it, you’re probably familiar with GIFs. You may also know about Giphy, the web’s most popular GIF database that was just acquired by Facebook. It’s a pretty big deal, as Giphy has integrations with tons of apps and services, like iMessage, Twitter, Trello, Mailchimp, and Tinder (to name a few). Luckily, it looks like Facebook won’t shut down the Giphy API, as it can gain many insights from GIF usage on its own family of apps and others. GIFs are a powerful tool to measure the emotional sentiment of users, which could help FB better incorporate psychological insights into its ad-targeting abilities, assisting brands’ ads to better resonate with viewers. For now, marketers don’t need to worry about losing GIFs on all your other platforms, but wait and see exactly how Facebook makes the most of this new partnership. Because as they say, a (moving) picture is worth a thousand words (or millions of dollars).
Subscribe and See
If you’re reading this, you’ve subscribed to at least one email newsletter (thanks for being here, btw!). You probably read others, too. Perhaps a coronavirus-focused newsletter? It turns out, brands and media companies (like Time Magazine and USA Today) that pivoted to produce these vertical-specific mailings are seeing significant spikes in subscribers and engagement — we’re talking 70% open rates and 20% click-through rates. These newsletters aren’t just for news; they cover things like self-care, personal finance, and more (just all in the time of COVID-19). And all of this content — and the unprecedented readership — proves the power and flexibility of the email newsletter. We don’t recommend your brand waits for a pandemic to enter the newsletter space. But this case study demonstrates that when you tap into current events, provide helpful or entertaining content, and become a consistent and dependable voice of guidance for your audience, it's a recipe for newsletter success.
WHAT LIT US UP THIS WEEK
Makeup and Mexican Food
Is it just a TikTok-inspired mashup or a match made in heaven? Let’s rewind: Cosmetics brand e.l.f. and Chipotle partnered up to create a prom makeup kit — complete with food-inspired products all housed in a crinkly silver bag that could easily pass as a warm, wrapped up burrito. And it sold out in minutes. If you’re wondering how this fun and funky collab makes any sense, it does on a few levels.
Both of these companies are super social media-forward, especially on TikTok. They each entered the space early and have created innovative and successful campaigns on the platform — from e.l.f.’s original made-for-TikTok song, Eyes.Lips.Face., to Chipotle’s numerous hashtag challenges, like the #GuacDance. Their ingenuity and ability to capitalize on trends shows just how in tune with Gen-Z and younger Millennial culture these two are. Plus, both brands are committed to providing quality, affordable, and enjoyable products to their customers, aligning their values on a fundamental level. As consumers seek exciting and unique experiences from brands, collabs and mashups are a great way to deliver. And like e.l.f. and Chipotle show, with a little bit of vision and a lot of similar values, even the most unlikely brands can make a perfect partnership.
